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Online, a mugshot is forever

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
05/05/2014 10:27:15 AM EDT

Maybe it was the result of losing a temper, the effects of peer pressure or poor youthful judgment.

But if it led to assault and battery, theft, drug possession, shoplifting or anything else that ends with an arrest, the incident will likely live on far past any court dates or adjudication. That's thanks to the permanence of practically anything that shows up online, including arrest logs and mug shots published by newspapers, other media outlets and websites looking to make a profit off the charges.

A generation ago, the charges might have disappeared along with that day's newspaper. No longer.

"The system is completely broken," said Rob Shavell, a co-founder of Boston-based Abine, which offers online privacy services, including one in which users are taken off websites that post mug shots and then charge for its removal.

"The Internet, plus the way public records have been created, legislated and kept for a long time, when colliding with the Internet, it's created a system that is currently the reality," Shavell said. "And it's completely broken."

Arrest logs and the potential harm they can cause people years down the road -- especially those found not guilty or whose charges were dismissed -- is an issue that balances fairness with freedom of the press and public records, said Wayne Logan, a law professor at Florida State University and author of a book on the history of public notification of criminals and criminal activity in the United States.

The law

Laws on the public posting of arrest logs vary by state.

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In Massachusetts, statute requires all police departments to maintain a daily arrest log, with the names and addresses of those arrested and a list of their charges. All log entries are public record "unless otherwise provided by law," according to statute, which does not specify which exemptions could keep the information private.

As for mug shots, Massachusetts law says booking photos taken prior to criminal proceedings are public record and do not fall under a public-records exemption granted for CORI, or Criminal Offender Record Information, reports.

Other states, including Connecticut and New Hampshire, have no specific provision for mug shots, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Criminals have had their names and photos displayed for all to see long before the Internet, of course. Back in the 1800s there were rogues' galleries, where police would post photos of criminals so the public knew who they might want to be leery of, said Logan, the Florida State professor.

But those photos were of convicts, he added, not of people simply accused of a crime. And those photos didn't last forever.

Today's equivalent of a rogue's gallery are websites like bustedmugshots.com and arrests.org, which list offenses and display booking photos. Other websites have popped up, offering to have those photos removed, for a price.

"Make no mistake, there's a profit motive" with such websites, Logan said. As for charging for the removal of such information, "It may be legal ... but it's certainly unseemly."

The websites argue in favor of public information.

"We believe that you have a right to be informed," says justmugshots.com. "The right to high-quality accessible information about the arrests in your area, to know if your neighbors or even your son's little league coach has been arrested."

Former convicts turn to a number of websites to get their images removed, often out of fear of being turned down for job offers or having their past come up in job interviews.

"We have lots and lots of people who contact us for exactly that fear," said Shavell, of the firm Abine, which provides those services. "Or they've already lost a job or can't confidently apply for a job because that information is out there."

Arrests are forever

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which advocates for the rights of reporters and free speech, comes across the issue of online arrest information often, particularly for mug shots.

"The permanence of online publishing is one of the consequences of living in a free society," said Emily Grannis, the Jack Nelson Legal Fellow at the committee.

Grannis said she doesn't know of any newspapers that have stopped publishing the information to avoid the issue. But in some cases, she said, news outlets have faced resistance in getting charges or booking photos from agencies aware of the permanence of the information they release.

In some states, lawmakers have proposed bills that would require mug-shot websites to take information down for free, Grannis said. But those types of laws could tread into an area infringing on free-speech laws, she said.

"While in some ways that seems like a pretty good solution, it's troubling to think of how far it could reach," she said. "The concern from our committee is we definitely don't want anyone forcing news sites to take the information down."

Arrest logs and booking photos are "very clearly public record," she said.

Requests to remove names from the published arrest logs, or stories about arrests, from the Sentinel & Enterprise's online presence have increased within the past two years.

The Sentinel & Enterprise formalized its digital policy in response. It does not remove legal arrests from either print or digital publication. It will update stories online if new information becomes available, such as disposition of the case or change/reduction of charges.

That policy ensures everyone is treated fairly -- from public employees, elected officials and employees of the newspaper, and their family and friends, who would be equally embarrassed by seeing their names in the arrest log.

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